The graduation ceremony is not just the culmination of years of hard work and dedication for students; it’s also a finely oiled machine that needs to funnel about 1,900 people in and out of the Recreation-Fitness Center in a timely fashion. Cynthia Good Kaufmann,  director of planning and events, is in charge of logistics, but was keen to mention that the ceremony is put together by “a bunch of departments coming together.” Coordination between departments such as the Registrar, the Dean’s office, Comm-mar and the Events office as well as cooperation from students is necessary for a successful ceremony. Brian...

By Phil Witmer-Rich • April 18, 2025 • Features

The less “green” parts of campus are due for an update, from the poles that literally light students’ way at night to the most hidden away boiler rooms on campus.  For all the students currently at Goshen College, the light pole replacement project has been an ongoing effort since before they arrived on campus. When it first started out, the poles were only getting switched out if they needed to be replaced due to damage or other issues, but now the whole host of new light poles are getting an expedited arrival time on campus.  Brian Mast, director of facilities,...

By Kate Bodiker • April 3, 2025 • Features

For a campus that’s over a century old, there are plenty of secrets and surprises littered throughout that facilities staff have to work with, or in, every day. On this ride along with Brian Mast, I was allowed to get a glimpse into it all. The whirring of fans and generators was the white noise that filled the Heating Plant on Tuesday morning, and Brian Mast, director of facilities, worked diligently on the bottom floor, tinkering with a pipe that was leaking water.  At the end of the steep blue staircase, the leaking pipe had a black and yellow screwdriver...

By Charlie Aldrich • March 27, 2025 • Features

The history within the walls of Goshen College’s buildings is plentiful. The red brick, the vines and limestone trim add to the charm that is GC. This vast history comes with years of repurposing buildings, and with constant repurposing, regular updates end up falling through the cracks.  The Visual Arts Building, tucked between the Leaf Raker parking lot and Administration Building, was built in 1940 and started its life as the library. The last renovation was made in 2003, which included some electrical upgrades, offices, new windows, reworking the ceramic lab and masonry restoration on the exterior according to Brian...

By Charlie Aldrich • February 20, 2025 • Features

High above the sidewalk on the north side of the Science Building sits the “Fruit Vent,” a small, square hole, about six feet from the top of the building, designed to let water drain off the roof. As it sits, looking towards the dining hall, it’s in the perfect position for students walking from the dining hall to see as they make their way back to their dorms.  Starting in around 2015, according to Chad Coleman, director of campus safety, students began to take whole fruits from the dining hall and throw them up at the vent, attempting to put...

By Tyson Miller • November 21, 2024 • News

Prompting more concerns over campus accessibility, the elevator in the Administration Building has suffered a “catastrophic failure,” according to Brian Mast, director of facilities at Goshen College. The elevator is not expected to be operational again this academic year. After students left at the end of the fall semester, the elevator’s hydraulic system lost a significant amount of fluid. This left the system’s pump without cooling fluid, and it began to overheat. “The way it went out was a little dramatic,” Mast said. “Smoke started coming out of the elevator equipment room, and the fire department was called.” The elevator...

By Daniel James • January 25, 2024 • News